"Britton loved Boyle County. He did not want to move, and I did not want him to have to move," Edwards said. "I wanted to let him finish school at Boyle County. That's why I didn't take any other job. Besides, if I mentioned it to him, I could tell he was not going to be for it because he has so many great friends here.
"I put off my career for him, but now he is almost ready to graduate and I would like the chance to be a head coach again."
Edwards thinks it would be especially nice to get that opportunity at the school where he played.
"I played there. It would be nice to be head coach there now, especially since it would be my last coaching job. I am used to being there. I have worked a lot of places I like, but this is home," Edwards said.
Adams returning to his passion
Adams, a 1979 Mercer graduate, has a strong coaching resume. He did his student teaching at Boyle, coached and taught three years at Harrodsburg, and has been an athletics director at a Florida high school. He was also the head coach at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Cleveland, Tenn., for 10 years before accepting a job offer from a friend four years ago to go into private business.
"My son was in high school and I hated being on the road and not getting to see him play," Adams said. "The timing was just right for me to go into business. Now I want to get back to what was my passion."
Adams, 47, has a daughter living in Durham, N.C. His son is a redshirt freshman basketball player at Tennessee Wesleyan.
"If I got the job, I would still get to see some of his games. But he needs his space to grow and develop on his own," Adams said.
Adams certainly is as familiar with Boyle as Springate and Edwards, who have more direct ties to the school, or even Tatum, who is friends with Boyle assistant principal Will Begley.
New Boyle football coach Larry French was coaching at Mercer when Adams played there. Current Boyle baseball coach David Camic was Adams' summer league coach. He was on the same Harrodsburg coaching staff as Edwards.
Adams says applying for the Boyle job vacated by Bottoms after four years was an easy decision.
"No. 1, their athletic history is so strong. The success they had in football breeds success in other sports," Adams said. "Baseball with coach Camic is strong and always has been. Basketball has been to the state tournament.
"I have family and friends here. This would be a good time for me to get back close to home."
He's not worried that Boyle has changed football, boys basketball, girls basketball and softball coaches in the last two years.
"I have been in coaching long enough to know that things happen. Sometimes it is not somebody's fault or not the right fit or things just happen. I do not look at that turnover as being an issue. It's more about whether it is a right fit for you," Adams said.
Adams is certified in physical education and health -- and Boyle has a PE opening. However, he also taught special education at Harrodsburg.
"I actually prefer special ," Adams said. "I even taught geography one year in Florida. But I really enjoyed special ed and would prefer that if it is a possibility if I get the job."
Adams and Edwards both said no specific time frame for hiring a coach has been mentioned to them.
Adams naturally assumes Boyle would like to get the job filled well before the school year ends to give the new coach time to meet the players and plan summer workouts.
But just like Springate and Tatum, Edwards and Adams are excited over the possibility of being Boyle's coach.
"It would be like a dream for me to coach at Boyle. It would mean more than I can really say," Edwards said.
"I never thought I would miss coaching like I did," Adams said. "I enjoyed college, but at the high school level you have more of an opportunity to influence kids and impact change."
